East Kent Freemasons give £57,000 to help community as part of their COVID-19 relief effort

The head of East Kent Freemasons Neil Johnstone is releasing £57,000 from his Disaster Relief Fund as part of the Cornwallis East Kent Freemasons' Charity

The money will go to help food banks, local charities and other local good causes in East Kent as part of the COVID-19 relief effort.

The disaster fund has only ever been used twice since 1998, first when the Kent air ambulance crashed and then in the year 2000 when Folkestone had severe flooding.

Neil Johnstone said: 'COVID-19 is unprecedented in our life-time and is certainly affecting many of our local communities in East Kent in many different ways. This money will enable us to help bring some relief to the most in-need in these most challenging times.'

Mark Bassant of the Cornwallis Charity said: 'Day to day, Freemasons are among the biggest charitable donors in the UK. East Kent has nearly 6,000 members and 30 centres from Gravesend to Margate and across to New Romney. Even now a great many of our members are assisting their local communities in all sorts of ways from volunteering and assisting the NHS to delivering food to those who cannot get out”.